The present invention relates to a carrier device and a production method.
A generic carrier device for a motor vehicle has a base carrier which is substantially formed by an organo sheet and which extends along a main plane. For example, in a carrier device for a motor vehicle door functional elements, such as for example functional elements of a window lifter or a lock, are secured to such a carrier device and, in particular, the base carrier thereof. The base carrier in this case may be configured, for example, by a plate-shaped semi-finished product which consists of an organo sheet. The organo sheet is an endless fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material, the endless fibers in the form of laid, woven or knitted fibers consisting of glass fibers, Kevlar fibers, carbon fibers or plastics fibers being embedded in a thermoplastic matrix. Polyamide, for example, is suitable as the thermoplastic material for the matrix due to its good properties of adhesion to the fibers. By the term “endless fiber-reinforced” is to be understood that the length of the fibers serving for the reinforcement is substantially defined by the size of the plate-shaped organo sheet. Thus a fiber is generally not discontinuous inside the organo sheet.
Since the base carrier is substantially formed by an organo sheet, this means that the organo sheet forms that part of the base carrier which is substantially subjected to the forces which are present under normal operating conditions. In this case, the base carrier is a door module of a motor vehicle door, for example the part of the base carrier on which one or more guide rails of a window lifter are provided. A part of the base carrier (for example linking together and bearing one or more guide rails) made of an organo sheet or a plurality of parts of the base carrier (for example bearing one or more guide rails) made of an organo sheet extend, for example, over approximately 30% or more of the surface of the base carrier.
In principle, therefore, the organo sheet may extend over more than 30%, in particular over more than 40%, and generally over at least 50% of the surface of the base carrier so that the organo sheet, therefore, also forms a corresponding proportion of more than 30%, in particular more than 40%, or approximately 50% or more of the surface of the base carrier in the main plane defined thereby. In order to utilize fully the advantages of the strength of the organo sheet, generally attempts are made to maximize the proportion of the organo sheet on the surface of the base carrier. A multipart embodiment of the organo sheet on a base carrier is not excluded here.
A main component of the base carrier, for example, is a plate-shaped semi-finished product which consists of an organo sheet. Thus the organo sheet defines a substantially flat extent of the base carrier but may be complemented by further components and/or materials. Thus, for example, metal elements and/or plastics elements may be incorporated in the organo sheet or attached to the organo sheet.
Due to the composition of the organo sheet of the base carrier, the possibilities for providing thereon three-dimensional structures by means of shaped portions is limited. For example, due to the endless fiber reinforcement of the organo sheet, locally defined shaped portions may have undesirable effects on regions outside the respectively shaped region. Thus, tensile forces caused by the local shaping of the organo sheet may be carried for relatively long distances through the base carrier due to the fibers. Moreover, the possibilities of three-dimensional structuring by means of thermal shaping in an organo sheet are limited by the flow properties thereof. Thus, three-dimensional structures may be incorporated only to a certain extent by thermal shaping of the organo sheet before damage occurs, such as for example cracks, in the base carrier.